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KHMER KROM NEWS

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Library unpacks a treasure: 1,105 Khmer-language books

Susan Taylor, a librarian at Mark Twain Library in Long Beach, views a photocopy of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, translated into Khmer, at the library Monday during the unpacking of 1,105 books she and employee Lyda Thanh purchased on a trip to Cambodia. (Kevin Chang / Press-Telegram)

Expected to be ready for check-out in April, acquisitions double Mark Twain collection.

LONG BEACH - A small crowd tore with delight into eight tightly sealed cardboard boxes Monday at the Mark Twain Library, pulling out the first of 1,105 new Khmer-language books recently arrived from Cambodia.

The new acquisitions more than double the size of the library's Khmer book collection, which had numbered 1,094, library officials said.

The additional books will give Long Beach's sizable Cambodian community some much-needed new reading materials that will serve both young and old, according to library officials, local Cambodian leaders and others who had gathered for the opening of the boxes.

Gary Ung, a library donor and Cambodian immigrant, said the new books will help Cambodian-American children retain their native culture and language.

"Some of them can read (Khmer), but some of them can only speak it and not read it," Ung said. "I think this will give them a key."

After struggling to find Khmer books in the United States or even through Cambodian publishers, branch librarian Susan Taylor and library employee Lyda Thanh went straight to the source this month, spending almost two weeks scouring Cambodian book stores.

There they discovered a surprising variety of books, said Thanh, whose official title at the library is homework helper. Thanh is the daughter of Cambodian immigrants, speaks the language fluently and catalogues all of the library's Khmer books.

She said groups such as nongovernmental organizations have stepped up production of Khmer texts.

"It's developing at an exponential rate," Thanh said. "Just from two years ago to now, the number of organizations that are publishing high-quality books has grown."

The two women bought the books from six bookstores and other sources, often astounding those around them in the process, Thanh said.

Taylor said the Cambodians were surprised the women had so much money to spend on books and that they were buying so many.

"We were scooping them up and scooping them up," Taylor said.

Especially amazing to the locals was that the books were going to be put in a public library where people could take them home for free, she said.

"The libraries there are either research only, or you have to pay an exorbitant fee that no one can pay," Taylor said.

The library paid $3,500 for the books and almost as much, $3,100, to ship them back to the states, Taylor said. All of the travel expenses for Taylor and Thanh were paid for by the Helen Fuller Cultural Carrousel committee, which is part of Friends of the Library.

Councilman Dee Andrews of the 6th District, which includes Cambodia Town, spoke briefly at the event, joking that he was disappointed he didn't get to travel to Cambodia as well. But for the children of Cambodian immigrants who haven't visited their parents' homeland, books can be a great alternative, he said.

"I didn't go to Cambodia, but remember, a book can take your mind anywhere you want to go in the world," Andrews said.

Taylor and Thanh brought back a wide range of books. The new additions to the Khmer collection include traditional Cambodian children's books with illustrations, translations of books such as "The Little Prince," children's books in Khmer and English, and a variety of adult books ranging from "Life of the Buddha" to instructional books about computer programs.

The women also obtained a photocopy - Cambodia doesn't have copyright laws - of the only existing Khmer translation of "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl," Taylor said. Another popular book series, "Harry Potter," was more difficult to come by because all of the copies had been sold, but Taylor said she is working to get that, too.

After unpacking the books, Nancy Prerk, project manager for the annual Cambodian New Year Parade, and other women recited aloud the letters of the Cambodian alphabet on an educational poster made for children.

"It brings back memories of being in school," Prerk said. "Some of the novels I used to read when I was little I'm definitely going to check out."

Before that can happen, Thanh must catalogue and organize all 1,105 of the new books. Library officials said the books will be available for check-out in time for the Cambodian New Year Parade on April 6.

However, on Saturday, the public will get a chance to see the books firsthand, even if they can't be taken home. Visitors can browse through the books, hear about the library's Cambodia trip and see photos from the journey beginning at 2 p.m. at the Mark Twain Library, 1401 Anaheim St.